Table 1.
Post-weaning growth rates in ewe lambs born to ewes fed endophyte-infected (E+) or endophyte-free (E−) tall fescue seed from d 35 to 85 of gestation (MID) or d 86 of gestation to parturition (LATE) 1.
| Maternal Fescue Seed Treatment 1 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ewe Lambs | E−/E− | E+/E− | E−/E+ | E+/E+ | Standard Error (SE) |
| No. born | 7 | 11 | 12 | 9 | |
| No. raised to wean | 7 | 11 | 11 | 9 | |
| No. raised to puberty, n | 5 | 10 | 9 | 7 | |
| Puberty | |||||
| Age 2, d | 188 d | 183d | 194c | 199 c | 13.20 |
| Weight 2, kg | 42.86 | 40.10 | 36.63 | 38.84 | 7.15 |
| Breeding Potential | |||||
| 6 mo of age, % | 38 a | 48 a | 17 b | 0 b | |
| 60% of mature wt 3, % | 20 | 36 | 19 | 15 | |
| Both age and weight, % | 18 a | 44 a | 0b | 0 b | |
1 Fescue seed treatment: ewe lambs born to ewes were fed endophyte-free (E−) or endophyte-infected (E+) tall fescue seed during MID gestation (d35 to 85) and/or LATE gestation (d 86 to parturition). 2 Age or weight at which plasma progesterone concentration exceeded threshold of 1.0 ng/mL, which is indicative of puberty attainment in ewe lambs. 3 Breeding potential was based on reaching puberty at 60% of mature weight (40.9 kg weight threshold for 68.2 kg mature weight). a,b Means in the same row with uncommon superscripts differ (p < 0.05). c,d Means in the same row with uncommon superscripts differ (p < 0.10).